The present invention relates to apparatus, for protecting sucker rods from wear. More specifically, the present invention relates to apparatus that are attached to the sucker rods of an oil well to protect the sucker rods from damage due to abrasion as oil is pumped from the well.
As is common practice in the oil industry, pump jacks serve to create a pumping action in the tubing of a subterranean well, causing petroleum fluids from underground formations to flow into the tubing. A pump jack typically includes a polished rod that extends from the wellhead down into the well hole. A sucker rod may pass through tubing within the well.
The pump jack, in operation moves the polished rod up and down. In such movement, the sucker rod may stress and bend, becoming situated against the tubing wall. The movement of the sucker rod against the tubing wall is abrasive and the abrasion wears the sucker rod and the wall, resulting in damage and destruction to the tubing, sucker rod, and any sucker rod boxes.
It has long been desired to minimize and/or even eliminate this abrasive wear problem. For instance, the patent literature includes several U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,247,564, 2,307,688, 2,690,934, 2,725,264, 2,389,906, and 4,858,688, dating from the 1930""s, that disclose sucker rod guides and/or sucker rod boxes that are intended to address this problem. However, so far as is known, all the sucker rod guides and/or boxes disclosed in these patents are characterized by certain disadvantages and/or limitations that decrease their utility.
There is, therefore, a need for improved sucker rod guides and boxes, and it is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for meeting this need.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a new and novel construction useful for minimizing abrasive wear on any member that is slidably mounted within a housing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for mounting to sucker rods and an apparatus for connecting sucker rods that minimizes abrasive wear on the sucker rods.
Another object of the present invention is to lengthen the service life of the sucker rods in a producing well.
Other objects, and the advantages, of the present invention will be made clear to those skilled in the art by the following description of the presently preferred embodiments thereof.
These objects are achieved by providing an apparatus for mounting to a member that is slidably mounted in a housing to minimize abrasive wear of the member and the housing upon sliding movement of the member in the housing comprising a generally elongate body, a plurality of longitudinal grooves in the outer surface of the elongate body, and an elongate slide residing in the longitudinal groove and protruding radially outwardly from the outer surface of the elongate body. Each slide is provided with a groove in at least one side surface thereof, the material comprising the body being deformed into the groove in the side surface of the slide for affixing the slide to the body in the longitudinal grooves. In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus is configured as a sucker rod guide and/or sucker rod box for minimizing abrasive wear on the sucker rods and tubing of an oil well.